A Peaceful Demonstration to Oppose the Continued Slaughter of Wolves in Idaho

A family-friendly demonstration to show support for wolf recovery in Idaho and opposition to Idaho’s Wolf Control Board and the recent aerial gunning of wolves in the “Lolo Zone” by the USDA Wildlife Services and Idaho Fish & Game Department.

When:

1:00 – 2:00pm Mountain Standard Time February 15, 2016

Where:

Idaho Capital Building (south side) 700 W. Jefferson Boise, Idaho

Why:

The Idaho Fish & Game Department just announced the completion of an aerial gunning exercise by the USDA Wildlife Services that resulted in the killing of 20 wolves in the “Lolo Zone” of the Clearwater National Forest. There was no public notice of the operation and funding for the operation came from the Idaho Wolf Control Board. The Wolf Control Board is now requesting an additional $400,000 for further wolf “control” actions in 2016. In 2015, a total of 72 wolves were killed with money from the Wolf Control Board. The Wolf Control Board was awarded $400,000 in 2015. That equates to roughly $5,500 per wolf “control.”

Demonstrators are demanding an end to Idaho’s wasteful Wolf Control Board and the termination of the USDA Wildlife Services aerial gunning program in the Lolo Zone on the Clearwater National Forest.

Idaho Department of Fish and Game responded to a phone call about the recent “secret” helicopter killing of wolves, and said the agency has been doing the same thing for the past 5 years. The response also implied that citizen input on wildlife issues is always welcome at the Idaho Fish and Game Commission “public meetings.”

It is also possible for citizens to organize public input meetings, discussions and networking project related to these issues. The peaceful demonstration in Boise on February 15, 2016 could possibly lead to more citizen organized meetings throughout the state to obtain a broader future perspective about the concepts of wildlife, wilderness and ecosystem sustainability. These concepts are becoming increasingly important in other U.S. States and globally as well.

I have gone to two of those public meetings. I kept track of who said what at one. Most people who took advantage of their 3 minute limit to speak, talked about wolves. Thirty one were pro wolf and four were anti wolf. The pro wolvers were veterinarians, ex. wildlife biologists, college professors etc. . In general they were very well spoken. One lady was able to attend the next day meeting that was not open to the public. The Fish and Game people at this meeting said that the public who spoke at the open meeting didn’t know what they were talking about.
My point is that these public meetings are not the answer. They are a waste of pro wolvers time.

The Idaho Dept of Fish and Game answers ONLY to those people who buy licenses and tags to hunt, fish and trap. Although state statutes (Title 36) claim that all fish and wildlife belong to all Idaho residents, and they are to be managed for everyone, the truth of the matter is the non-consumptive public do not have a voice in matters such as these. You can buy a special plate for non-game funding, or make a tax donation, but until such time as the general public has a way to fund the agency (which most sportsmen do NOT want) this will never change. A needed paradigm shift has to do with the very name of the agency. It could be changed to Idaho Fish and WILDLIFE to alter this mentality and change management direction.

I saw a show on animal planet called Yukon men. They were hunting wolves with AR-15,or17.The thing that struck me was they kept talking about the wolf pack “threatening the village “Does anyone know how I can find out what the real story behind these reality shows. There was no mention of any background facts about the area, or its history. There is a lot of this programing on cable TV. Can anyone direct me to how I might research these shows?also,they showed trappers using leghold traps

Don’t have your answer but must mention this. There is no history of a wolf killing a human in the lower 48 states before or after reintroduction. Moose, elk, deer etc. are more prone to attacking humans than wolves.
Good luck in your search.

Warning: This is a rhetorical question: Any one think that the Idaho Wolf Control Board is monitoring for meta-population genetic connectivity (as mandated by the 1994 EIS) before it dispatches 20 wolves at a time?

Warning: This is a rhetorical question: Any one think that the Idaho Wolf Control Board is monitoring for meta-population genetic connectivity (as mandated by the 1994 EIS) before it dispatches 20 wolves at a time?

The Mexican gray wolf population in the United States dropped 12 percent in 2015, with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service blaming the decline on an increase in adult wolf deaths and a decrease in the survival rate of pups.

A very diplomatic way of saying the reason for the decline: “an increase in adult wolf deaths” – shot by people who don’t want them and who are impeding the process by denying permits and a unilateral (when it suits ranchers et al only) acknowledgement of private property rights isn’t included.

Thanks for the links Ida. As usual, it seems impossible to stop the ranchers. The abuse our wildlife is taking almost everywhere is just not right. With the departments in charge of protecting them doing the opposite, who can one turn to?

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Quote

‎"At some point we must draw a line across the ground of our home and our being, drive a spear into the land and say to the bulldozers, earthmovers, government and corporations, “thus far and no further.” If we do not, we shall later feel, instead of pride, the regret of Thoreau, that good but overly-bookish man, who wrote, near the end of his life, “If I repent of anything it is likely to be my good behaviour."